Orange Coast College

Pirates trounce Santa Barbara in season opener

Sunday, September 03, 2006

COSTA MESA - If the opening play of a football season is a good indicator of what the future holds, the Orange Coast College football team is in mighty-fine shape.
Nathan Barnett's game-opening 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was just one of several highlights for the Pirates in their 39-7 rout of visiting Santa Barbara on Saturday night at LeBard Stadium.
Five Santa Barb

ara turnovers, combined with a Pirate defense that allowed minus-seven yards of rushing offense, OCC took that early lead and never looked back, improving their all-time record for season openers to 36-20-3.
While the 39 points gets the headlines, it was the Pirates' defense that racked up the win and even contributed with the production on the scoreboard.
Leading 9-0, a well-placed Brock Jaramillo punt pinned the Vaqueros on their own 1-yard line. On the first play of the drive, SBCC running back Willie Alexander was tackled in the end zone by linebacker Shaun Mohler, giving the Pirates a familiar 11-0 lead over the Vaqueros, equaling the bizarre final score from last year.
But, unlike last year, there was plenty of more scoring to follow.
Following SBCC's free kick, the Bucs traveled just 30 yards on six plays, capped off by a 10-yard touchdown run by Kekoa Crowell on 4th-and-1 from the Vaqueros' 10-yard line.
On Santa Barbara's ensuing drive, Pirate linebacker stripped SBCC receiver Ryan Angstman of the ball following a completion. He then scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 17 yards for another OCC touchdown, pushing the Bucs' advantage to 25-0.
That was more than enough point production for the OCC defense, which held Santa Barbara without a first down until late in the second quarter.
Andrew Banks (79 rushing yards on 23 carries) and Raul Ballas (50 yards, 11 carries) each added rushing touchdowns in the second half.
OCC returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 9 on the road against Compton. Game time is set for 1 p.m.